Friendsfailed its main characters a couple of times, but I will never forgive the show for what it did to its best character. Many shows from the 1990s now rank amongthe best TV shows of all time, and one of the most notable ones isFriends. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman,Friendsaired for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
Although many things aboutFriendshaven’t aged well, it’s still one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. The show’s already extensive fan base has further expanded thanks toFriends’ arrival in the world of streaming, and has made it a lot easier to rewatch the show. However, revisiting the show years after its release brings out some tough realities.
Throughout 10 seasons, Monica (Courteney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), and Ross (David Schwimmer) went through many wins, fails, and changes in their lives. However, it can’t be said that they all had the same level of character development, which is why I will never forgiveFriendsfor what it did to its best character: Rachel.
Rachel Shouldn’t Have Gotten Off The Plane At The End Of Friends
Despite having six main characters and following their personal and professional lives quite closely,Friendsended up giving more attention and space to the chaoticrelationship of Ross and Rachel. The pilot episode ofFriendsmade sure to establish the importance that Ross and Rachel’s relationship was going to have, revealing Ross had had a crush on her for years.
The “will they, won’t they” dynamic between Ross and Rachel added drama toFriends, but parallel to their relationship was Rachel’s development. Rachel had some very low lows throughoutFriends(such as her storyline with Joshua, which is still painful to watch), but also very high highs, such as her road to independence.
After an uncomfortable relationship with Joey in season 10 that many would like to forget, Rachel went back to who she was before dating Joey, focusing on her career and co-parenting with Ross. Towards the end ofFriends, Rachel had a failed job interview with Gucci that led to her being fired from Ralph Lauren, but she then got a job offer from Louis Vuitton in Paris.
Friends’ final episode focused heavily on Ross trying to stop Rachel from boarding the plane, which she did. When Ross returned home and listened to Rachel’s voicemail, she surprised him at his doorstep, revealing she had gotten off the plane. While this was meant to be a romantic gesture, it was a huge step back for Rachel, who should have never gotten off the plane.
The two characters with the best character development inFriendswere Chandler and Rachel, but the latter was a completely different person in the first and last seasons. Rachel went through a much-needed reality check and journey of self-discovery when she ran away on her wedding day and stopped living off of her father’s money.
Rachel got her first jobas a waitress in Central Perk, and she found a way to pursue her dream of working in fashion. Rachel went from being a waitress to an executive at Ralph Lauren, and she also grew a lot as a person.
Rachel stopped being spoiled (she still got what she wanted, but she worked for it) and selfish, and by the end ofFriends, she had succeeded in the fashion world, was independent, and was a single mom.
Although the job at Louis Vuitton was a huge change for Rachel, she mentioned it was her dream job as she would be in the Fashion Capital of the World. It wouldn’t have been an easy change, but Rachel worked hard for years to get to that spot, and she left it all just to get back together with the man she had the most unstable and sometimes toxic relationship with.
Whatever happened in Rachel’s career after the end ofFriendsis unknown, but without Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and not going to Paris, Rachel was unemployed and might have struggled to get another high-ranking job in the fashion industry, but she was back together with Ross.
Rachel’s Relationship With Ross Negatively Affected Her Story Until The End
Unfortunately, Rachel’s relationship with Ross had a lot of influence on her story throughout the entirety ofFriends. Rachel thrived when her story didn’t focus on her relationship with Ross or lack of it (once again, I’ll never forget how terrible her storyline with Joshua was), while Ross was pretty much the same person with and without Rachel.
All of Rachel’s development over 10 seasons crashed and burned when she got off the plane and gave up her dream job to get back together with Ross, and it was her life that was affected by this, not Ross’. Whateverhappened to Rachel afterFriendsendedis up to every viewer, but the truth is that she deserved a lot better.
